The misunderstanding
The misunderstanding (French: Le Malentendu ) is a play that was written by Albert Camus in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon in 1943 and that premiered in 1944.
content
A mother (around 60 years old) lives with her daughter Martha (around 25 years old) in a lonely area. The two run a hotel, which is badly attended. Martha wants to live by the sea, but the two of them don't have enough money. Since they don't know what else to do, they kill their guests so that they can start a new life by the sea with their money. One day, however, the mother's long-lost son (Jan) comes home. He presumably emigrated to Algeria when he was a teenager. There he became wealthy and got married. Contrary to the advice of his wife Maria, he pretends to be a stranger in order to first have a look at his family and find out how best to make them happy. The mother does not recognize her son, however, because 1. she sees poorly and 2. knows from experience that it is easier to kill those who cannot be looked at. The son sends his wife away because he first wants to be alone with his family. Maria doesn't understand him and only leaves the hotel fearful and reluctant. During the night, mother and daughter kill Jan - not knowing who he is - by mixing him a sleeping potion and throwing him into a nearby river while he sleeps.
Others
The plot of The Misunderstanding is reminiscent of the newspaper clipping that the main character in Der Fremde finds in her prison cell and reads again and again: the story of a man who has made his fortune far away from home, returns to his home village wealthy, his mother's hotel and Visited sister and stayed there overnight without revealing herself (so that later the surprise would be greater), and then - for the money - she was killed in her sleep. When the murderesses recognize him, they take their own lives.
In 1966, Südwestfunk produced a 60-minute television film based on the play, directed by Ludwig Cremer, starring Margaret Carl , Rolf Boysen and Elisabeth Flickenschildt .
output
- In: Dramas , translated into German by Guido G. Meister, Rowohlt Verlag, Hamburg 1959.
literature
- Peter Reifenberg : Coming back home - and the fate of people. The drama "Le Malentendu" by Albert Camus, in: P. Reifenberg / R. Rothenbusch (Ed.): Courage - Serenity - Wisdom. Freiburg / Munich 2017. pp. 61–78.